Principals should be instructional leaders." How often have you heard that statement? In reading books on the principalship, perusing job descriptions, or listening to superintendents talk about the role building leaders should play, I find a pervasive assumption that a principal must be the instructional leader of the school.

I agree: Principals should be instructional leaders. The title principal emanated from the term principal teacher. The assumption behind the title was that the principal had more skill and knowledge than anyone in the building and would guide others in how to teach. Much has changed in the schooling enterprise, but our expectations for the principal remain the same: He or she needs to be the educational visionary, offering direction and expertise to ensure that students learn.

But scads of other responsibilities also fall to the principal: These include student discipline, building security and cleanliness, athletics, relationships with parents, personnel supervision, test scores, and meeting adequate yearly progress goals. True, sometimes the principal is intimately involved in anarea and sometimes he or she delegates, but the principal always bears the responsibility, which cuts into the time and energy needed to think about pedagogy.

These additional duties are not the main obstacle to principals' instructional leadership, however. Another deterrent, in my candid opinion, is that teachers today know so much more about how students learn than they did when the principalship emerged. Perhaps long ago a principal could be the resident instructional expert and offer advice to everyone—but no more! Not only has knowledge about learning mushroomed, but teacher expertise has also grown. In my school, quite a few teachers know far more about pedagogy, curriculum, and student learning than I do, and I'm thrilled that they do. Ideally, this would be the case for every principal in every school.

But having teachers with expertise doesn't abrogate the principal's responsibility for being the instructional leader anymore than does a myriad of responsibilities. So how can we lead?

Leader as Catalyst for CollegialityAlthough today's principals have neither the time nor the expertise to be the instructional leader in the traditional sense—by knowing the most—we can exercise instructional leadership just as powerfully through facilitating teachers' learning. Roland Barth's notion of collegiality described in Improving Schoolsfrom Within1  provides a model. Barth says that if students are to grow and learn, their teachers must grow and learn, too. He discusses four aspects of collegiality: teachers talking togetherabout students, teachers developing curriculum together, teachersobserving one another teach, and teachers teaching one another. Iwould add teachers and administrators working together to shape asolution for a particular school issue.

I often use Barth's components of collegiality to consider how I might enhance teacher collaboration in my school. Some activities, like teachers talking together about students, occur naturally. I try to enhance these conversations by nudging teachers toward a growth perspective. I might ask, "What areas are students soaring in or struggling with? Why?" Other collegialpractices, such as teachers observing one another, require a pushfrom me. I recently met with some of my senior teachers to talk about getting more observations going. We agreed that observations would be beneficial and plan to begin more teacher observations soon.

I share the concept of collegiality with my faculty, which helps them see themselves as resources and partners in creating a collegial setting. I expressly include collegiality on teachers' end-of-year evaluations, commending some for leading committees or helping teammates and pointing out to others that they are notyet active participants in our learning community.

Leading Questions

An important aspect of leading through facilitating teachers' growth is offering input on lessons and leading teachers to theirown discoveries. I often use the following questions when I give teachers feedback on a lesson plan or delivery:

How did this lesson address the needs of your three strongest and three weakest students?

What would you do differently the next time you teach this lesson? Why?

How will you know what your students know? How could you create an assessment tool that would help you

teach these concepts?

Each of these questions is a starting point for a face-to-face conversation, an e-mail exchange, or a wider group discussion. After one recent observation, for example, a teacher and I sharedideas both in person and through e-mail for helping a talented but distractible student.

Today's teachers don't necessarily look for answers from an instructional leader. But they need to know that their leader understands and appreciates their work and recognizes their challenges and frustrations. Teachers need to see their principals as partners in education, learning with and from them.

Endnote

BackgroundThere has been much discussion regarding the relative effectiveness of different leadership styles in bringing about improved student performance. Instructional leadership is one of the most useful tools in creating a forward-looking, student-centered school environment.

Instructional leadership can be defined as "those actions that a principal takes, or delegates to others, to promote growth in student learning." In practice, this means that the principal encourages educational achievement by making instructional quality the top priority of the school and brings that vision to

realization. The role of an instructional leader differs from that of traditional school administrator in a number of meaningful ways. Whereas a conventional principal spends the majority of his/her time dealing with strictly administrative duties, a principal who is an instructional leader is charged with redefining his/her role to become the primary learner in a community striving for excellence in education. As such, it becomes the principal’s responsibility to work with teachers to define educational objectives and set school-wide or district wide goals, provide the necessary resources for learning, and create new learning opportunities for students and staff.

BenefitsThe result of instructional leadership is a collaborative learning environment where learning is not confined to the classroom and is the objective of all educators. Instructional leadership is an important departure from the ancient model of administrator as authoritarian. Inherent in the concept is the idea that learning should be a top-down process. If those in charge of the school are excited about learning, then they will share their enthusiasm throughout the community.

Those who learn to be instructional leaders acquire many characteristics that are beneficial to their schools and communities. Instructional leaders exhibit a clear sense of direction for their schools and prioritize and focus attention onthe things that really matter in terms of the work of students. Furthermore, instructional leaders know what is happening in their classrooms and develop the capacities of staff by building on their strengths and reducing their weaknesses. These leaders also attempt to sustain improvement and change in their schools by anticipating and overcoming the obstacles that inevitably willemerge along the way.

ExamplesThe National Association of Secondary School Principals is one type of association that offers workshops to help educators

acquire the skills necessary to become an effective instructionalleader. For example, Leader 1 2 3 - A Development Program for Instructional Leaders is a three-day program designed to help principals build instructional leadership skills. This unique experience focuses on planning, developing, implementing, and measuring skills required to support quality learning in the school and includes practice in team leadership and shared decision-making.

It has often been said that the school principal wears many

hats being manager, administrator, instructional leader and

curriculum leader at different points in a day. It is a balancing

act of having to juggle between these various roles. Often times,

more attention is accorded to managerial and administrative tasks

and that of the instructional leader is relegated to others in

the administrative hierarchy even though the core business of a

school is teaching and learning. The role of 'instructional

leader' by school leaders is a relatively new concept that

emerged in the early 1980's which called for a shift of emphasis

from principals being managers or administrators to instructional

or academic leaders. This shift was influenced largely by

research which found that effective schools usually had

principals who stressed the importance of instructional

leadership (Brookover and Lezotte, 1982). Later, in the first

half of the 90s, “attention to instructional leadership seemed to

waver, displaced by discussions of school-based management and

facilitative leadership” (Lashway, 2002, p.1). Recently,

instructional leadership has made a comeback with increasing

importance placed on academic standards and the need for schools

to be accountable.

While most would agree that instructional leadership is

critical in the realisation of effective schools, it is seldom

practiced. For example, among the many tasks performed by

principals, only one-tenth of time is devoted towards providing

instructional leadership (Stronge, 1988). Even today, school

leaders continue to seek a balance in their role as manager-

administrator and instructional leader. Interestingly, among the

reasons cited for less emphasis given to instructional leadership

is the lack of in depth training for their role as an

instructional leader, lack of time to execute instructional

activities, increased paper work and the community’s expectation

that the principal’s role is that of a manager (Flath, 1989;

Fullan, 1991).

 

 

Defining Instructional Leadership

Instructional leadership differs from that of a school

administrator or manager in a number of ways. Principals who

pride themselves as administrators are too preoccupied in dealing

with strictly administrative duties compared to principals who

are instructional leaders. The latter role involves setting clear

goals, allocating resources to instruction, managing the

curriculum, monitoring lesson plans, and evaluating teachers. In

short, instructional leadership are those actions that a

principal takes, or delegates to others, to promote growth in

student learning (Flath, 1989). The instructional leader makes

instructional quality the top priority of the school and attempts

to bring that vision to realisation.

More recently, the definition of instructional leadership

has been expanded to towards deeper involvement in the core

business of schooling which is teaching and learning. Attention

has shifted from teaching to learning, and some have proposed the

term "learning leader" over "instructional leader" (Richard

DuFour, 2002). The National Association of Elementary School

Principals (2001) defines instructional leadership as "leading

learning communities". In learning communities, staff members

meet on a regular basis to discuss their work, work together to

problem solve, reflect on their jobs, and take responsibility for

what students learn. They operate in networks of shared and

complementary expertise rather than in hierarchies or in

isolation. People in a learning community “own the problem” and

become agents of its solution. Instructional leaders also make

adult learning a priority; set high expectations for performance;

create a culture of continuous learning for adults and get the

community’s support for school success. Blase and Blase, (2000)

expressed instructional leadership in specific behaviours such as

making suggestions, giving feedback, modeling effective

instruction, soliciting opinions, supporting collaboration,

providing professional development opportunities, and giving

praise for effective teaching

 

Knowledge and the Instructional Leader

Inherent in the concept of an instructional leader is the

notion that learning should be given top priority while

everything else revolves around the enhancement of learning which

undeniably is characteristic of any educational endeavour. Hence

to have credibility as an instructional leader, the principal

should also be a practicing teacher. For example, in the United

Kingdom, most principals spend an average of 20 percent of their

time in a week on teaching (Weindling 1990). Instructional

leaders need to know what is going on in the classroom; an

opportunity ‘to walk the factory floor’. Many a time, principals

are not in touch with what is going on at the classroom level and

are unable to appreciate some of the problems teachers and

students encounter. The tendency is to address instructional

issues from the perspective when they were teachers. Principals

need to work closely with students, developing teaching

techniques and methods as a means for understanding teacher

perspectives and for establishing a base on which to make

curricular decisions. Also, a teaching principal strengthens the

belief that "the sole purpose of the school is to serve the

educational needs of students" (Harden, 1988, p. 88). Whitaker

(1997) identified four skills essential for instructional

leadership.

First, they need to be a resource provider. It is not enough

for principals to know the strengths and weaknesses of their

faculty but also recognise that teachers desire to be

acknowledged and appreciated for a job well done.

Secondly, they need to be an instructional resource. Teachers

count on their principals as resources of information on

current trends and effective instructional practices.

Instructional leaders are tuned-in to issues relating to

curriculum, effective pedagogical strategies and assessment.

Thirdly, they need to be good communicators. Effective

instructional leaders need to communicate essential beliefs

regarding learning such as the conviction that all children

can learn and no child should be left behind.

Finally, they need to create a visible presence. Leading the

instructional programme of a school means a commitment to

living and breathing a vision of success in teaching and

learning. This includes focusing on learning objectives,

modeling behaviors of learning, and designing programmes and

activities on instruction.

 

While it is generally held that the principal is both

manager-administrator and instructional leader in many countries,

including Malaysia; principals tend to be more manager-

administrators oriented while that of instructional leader is

most often delegated to the assistant principal. Even then, the

label ‘instructional leader’ is seldom assigned to any one person

but is assumed to be the responsibility of all teachers.

Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that the trend is towards

insisting that the principal assume the prominent role of an

instructional leader. It will be a formidable task convincing

principals to relinquish their image as manager-administrator and

take on the role of instructional leader. Generally, principals

do not see themselves as instructional leaders and many are of

the belief that anything that has to do with teaching and

learning is best assigned to teachers. In some cases, principals

feel inadequate to initiate and develop instructional programmes

given the assortment of subject areas taught with each having its

own pedagogical uniqueness. For example, teaching reading is

different from teaching science and would it be fair to expect

the principal to be knowledgeable about instructional strategies

for each of the subject areas. Despite these apprehensions,

proponents of the idea that the principal should be an

instructional leader, is gaining serious attention. If that be

the case then the principal needs to have up-to-date knowledge on

three areas of education, namely; curriculum, instruction and

assessment.

With regards to curriculum, principals need to know about

the changing conceptions of curriculum, educational

philosophies and beliefs, knowledge specialisation and

fragmentation, curricular sources and conflict, curriculum

evaluation and improvement.

With regards to instruction, principals need to know about

different models of teaching, the theoretical reasons for

adopting a particular teaching model, the pedagogy of the

internet, the theories underlying the technology-based

learning environment.

With regards to assessment, principals need to know about

the principles of student assessment, assessment procedures

with emphasis on alternative assessment methods and

assessment that aim to improve rather than prove student

learning.

 

Underlying these three areas of knowledge, is a deep

understanding of on how humans learn. It may not be an

overstatement to suggest that a principal is not fully equipped

if he or she does not have a deep understanding of human learning

(Phillips, 1996). The core business of a school is learning and

recent research in cognitive science has produced a wealth of

knowledge about human learning. It is crucial that principals

know and understand these theories so that they may serve as a

resource in enhancing instructional effectiveness. An

impoverished understanding of human learning will make it

difficult for the principal to explain and justify the

theoretical underpinnings of instructional strategies practiced.

Furthermore, with the growing importance of technology in

schools, principals also need to be equipped with the knowledge

of technology integration in teaching and learning. Increasingly,

principals are looked upon as leaders who will inspire teachers

to adopt innovative pedagogies in the classroom. For example, if

some students are unable to read and write at secondary level,

the principal as instructional leader should take steps to

alleviate the problem by supporting teachers' instructional

methods, allocating resources and materials, visiting classrooms

frequently, providing feedback on instructional methods and

techniques and using data to focus attention on improving the

curriculum and instruction (Mendez-Morse, 1991).

Skills and the Instructional Leader

Besides having knowledge in the core areas of education, the

principal must possess certain to carry out the tasks of an

instructional leader. These skills are; interpersonal skills,

planning skills, instructional observation skills, skills in

research and evaluation.

Interpersonal or people skills are essential for the success

of being a principal. These are skills that maintain trust,

spur motivation, give empowerment and enhance collegiality.

Relationships are built on trust and tasks are accomplished

through motivation and empowerment wherein teachers are

involved in planning, designing and evaluating instructional

programmes. Empowerment leads to ownership and commitment as

teachers identify problems and design strategies themselves.

Collegiality promotes sharing, cooperation and

collaboration, in which both the principal and teachers talk

about teaching and learning.

Planning begins with clear identification of goals or vision

to work towards as well as induce commitment and enthusiasm.

Next is to assess what changes need to occur and which may

be accomplished by asking the people involved, reading

documents and observing what is going on.

Observing instruction (supervision) aims to provide teachers

with feedback to consider and reflect upon. But teachers

should make their own judgement and reach their own

conclusions.

Research and evaluation skills are needed to critically

question the success of instructional programmes initiated

and one of the skills most useful would be action research.

The task of being an instructional leader is both complex and

multidimensional. If principals believe that growth in student

learning is the primary goal of schooling, then it is a task

worth learning. If a principal possesses these knowledge and

skills he or she are likely become an effective leaders -

sharing, facilitating, and guiding decisions about instructional

improvement for the betterment of student's education.

Conclusion

If principals are to take the role of instructional leader

seriously, they will have to free themselves from bureaucratic

tasks and focus their efforts towards improving teaching and

learning. Instructional improvement is an important goal, a goal

worth seeking, and a goal when implemented, allows both students

and teachers to control their own destiny in making a more

meaningful learning environment. Brewer (2001) suggests that the

role of the instructional leader be expanded to incorporate a

shift away from "management" (working in the system of

administrative tasks) toward "leadership" (working on the system)

and in the case being argued it is ‘instructional leadership’. To

achieve this quest, it takes more than a strong principal with

concrete ideas and technical expertise. It requires a

redefinition of the role of principals, one that removes the

barriers to leadership by eliminating bureaucratic structures and

reinventing relationships.

In summary, the "dramatically different role" of the

principal as an instructional leader is outlined by Brewer (2001)

as “one that requires focusing on instruction; building a

community of learners; sharing decision making; sustaining the

basics; leveraging time; supporting ongoing professional

development for all staff members; redirecting resources to

support a multifaceted school plan; and creating a climate of

integrity, inquiry, and continuous improvement” (p.30).

 

 

 

References

Blase, J. and Blase Jo. (2000). Effective instructional leadership: Teachers’ perspectives on how principals promote teaching and learning in schools. Journal of Educational Administration 38(2). 130-41.

Brewer, H. (2001). Ten steps to success. Journal of Staff Development, 22(1), 30-31.

 

Brookover, W. B., & Lezotte, L. (1982). Creating effective schools.Holmes Beach, FL: Learning Publication.

DuFour, Richard. The learning-centered principal. Educational Leadership 59, 8 (May 2002): 12-15.

Flath, B. (1989). The principal as instructional leader. ATA Magazines, 69(3), 19-22, 47-49.

Fullan, M. (1991). The new meaning of educational change. New York: Teachers College Press.

Lashway, L. (2002). Developing instructional leaders. ERIC Digest 160 (July), Clearinghouse on Educational Management, University of Oregon.

National Association of Elementary School Principals. (2001). Leading learning communities: Standards for what principals should know and be able to do. Alexandria, Virginia.

Stronge, J. H. (1988). A position in transition? Principal. 67(5), 32-33.

Mendez-Morse, S. (1991). The principal’s role in the instructional process: Implications for at-risk students. Issues about Change. 1(2). 1-5.

Whitaker, B. (1997). Instructional leadership and principal visibility. The Clearinghouse, 70(3), 155-156.

Weindling, D. (1990). The secondary school head teacher: New principals in the United Kingdom. National Association of Secondary School Principals Bulletin, 74(526), 40-45.

 

The Innovative Role of the Principal as Instructional Leader: A Prerequisite for High Student Achievement?Raj Mestry+University of Johannesburg Abstract.Principals today face more demands, more complex decisions, and more responsibilities than

principals of the past. The principal’s day is filled with activities of management such as handling relations with parents and community, dealing with multiple teacher and student crisis that are inevitable. However principals should facilitate best practices and keep the school focused on curriculum, instruction, and assessment to meet students’ learning needs and improve achievement. The principal should take on an innovative role as an instructional leader who possesses the requisite skills, capacity and commitment to lead an effective school. This study investigates how principals perceive their roles as instructional leaders. Using an open ended questionnaire and personal interviews with eight principals in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, it found that principals who placed importance to instructional matters were managing and leading schools effectively and attaining high student achievement. Keywords:Instructional Leadership, Principal, Professional Development, Assessment, Curriculum Delivery, Student Achievement. 1.IntroductionThe role of the principal has become more complex,overloaded and unclear in the past decade. Fullan (1991: 144) asserts that the role of the principal has been in a state of transition, progressing from the principal as an instructional leader or master teacher, to the principal as a transactional leader and, most recently, to the role of transformational leader. The duties of principals extend beyond that of instructional leaders to one that is administrative and managerial. The principal’s day is filled with activities of management – scheduling, reporting, and handling relations with parents and community, dealing with multiple crisis and special situations that are inevitable in schools (Fink &Resnick, 2001). Most principals spend relatively little time in classrooms and even less analyzing instruction with teachers. They may arrange time for teachers’ meetings and professional development, but they rarely provide in

tellectual leadership for growth in teaching skills. Research conducted by Bushand Heystek (2006: 68) revealed that South African principals are mainly concerned with financial and human resource management, and policy issues. The management of teaching and learning was ranked seventh of ten leadership activities in a survey taken withmore than 500 Gauteng principals. Chisholm (2005) agrees that principals’ time is largely consumed by managerial and administrative activities. The expectations of principals have moved from demands of management and control to the demands of an educational leader who can foster staff development, parental involvement, community support and student growth (Mestry,1999:4). Blasé, Blasé and Phillips (2010: xxi) concur with Mestry and argue that new responsibilities and activities have been added on to the principal’s role but the old responsibilities and activities have remained. This, they add, has resulted in the role of the principal being composed of a multitude of conflicting demands (Blasé et al., 2010:xxii). According to Kruger (2003:206), many school principals lack the time for and an understanding of their instructional leadership function. Hallinger and Murphy (1985) noted that a major challenge for principals was balancing their administrative role with their instructional functions. They thus queried whether oneperson could do all the job of a principal, and suggested the need for empowering others to exercise leadership. There is a belief in educational circles that principals can make a difference to the teaching and learning environment by creating conducive conditions for improved instruction(Alig-Mielcaric, 2003:7;Copeland, 2003:2; Yu, 2009: 715; McKewan, 1998:2). Thus, +Corresponding author. Tel.: + 27828028032; fax: +27115592262. E-mail address: rajm@uj.ac.za. 119principals play a key role in the development

and maintenance of academic standards in schools (Sergiovanni, 1984: 6-8).According to Shoho, Barnett and Tooms (2012: 1), the professional lives of school principals have increasingly impinged on their personal well-being, and resources have continued to shrink, it is crucial to understand how principals share and divide their energy, ideas, and time within the school day. It is therefore worthy to explore the rarely examined experiences ofprincipals and how they are to become effective instructional leaders. By understanding their experiences, one would be able to determine what aspects of leadership preparation are useful and what aspects need to be reconceptualised and changed. The problem statement is thus: How do principals understand their role as instructional leaders? The following section examines what is understood by instructional leadership and the role principal play as instructional leader. 2.The Instructional Leadership Role of the Principal Defined Instructional leadership can be defined as those actionsthat principals take, ordelegate to others, to promote growth in students’ learning (the concepts ‘learner’ and ‘student’ will be used interchangeably). In practice, this means that the principal ensures educational achievement by making instructional quality the top priority of the school. Fullan (1991:161) explains thatinstructional leadership is an active, collaborative form of leadership where the principal works with teachers to shape the school as a workplace in relationto shared goals, teacher collaboration, teacher learning opportunities, teacher certainty, teacher commitment, and student learning. Instructional leaders spend most of their time dealing strictly with curricula matters rather than administrative functions. The principals as instructional leaders should at all times strive for

excellence in teaching and learning with the sole purpose of improvingstudent achievement. Principals should serve foremost as instructional leaders in schools, and that their commitment to instructional improvement should not only be strongly articulated butshould be reinforced with experience in the classroom (Glanz, 2006: xv; MacNeill, Cavanagh &Silcox,2003:40). In order to secure legitimacy in the eyes of the teachers, principals should have sufficient teaching experience and should understand with first-hand experience the instructional challenges faced by teachers. Instructional leadership demands high standards of academic excellence: setting high expectations for learner success; having knowledge and experience with effective teaching or instructional strategies. Glanz (2006:xv), Instructional leadership is thus about encouraging best practices in teaching. Principals should become familiar with innovative theories and practices and motivate teachers to model them in classrooms. 3.MethodologyThis investigation was directed at determining the perceptions of principals of their role as instructional leaders facilitating effective teaching and learning in schools.To gain a better insight into the participants’ realities and experiences of instructional leadership, thisstudy was located within the interpretivist paradigm (Hatch &Cunliff, 2006:41-44).Using a generic qualitative approach which seeks to discover the perspective and worldviews of the people involved, eight principalswere asked to complete an open ended questionnaire and this was followed by semi-structured individual interviews. Purposive sampling was used to collect rich datato provide the researcher an insight and an understanding of the problem researched (Marshall, 1996: 523). Principals from eight primary and high schools situated in the Gauteng Province were interviewed.To ensure trustworthiness, highly structured interviews for each participant wereconducted using the same format a

nd sequence of words and questions (Cohen, Manion& Morrison, 2011:204). To achieve greater validity for this study, the researcher was mindful of the fact that he could not be biased or prejudicial by the way questions were framed and asked during the interviews. 4.Findings120The themes that have been identified will be discussed and supported with appropriate literature where applicable. 4.1.The Functions of Principals Ranked in Order of Importance Some participants expressed concern about managing their time effectively and efficiently. Even though many schools apply the distributive leadership model, these principals are frequently drawn into dealing with learner discipline and budgetary issues, rarely being able to take on their instructional leadership responsibilities. Only three of the eight principals interviewed considered instructional leadership (managing teaching and learning) very important and this function consumed most of their time than any other functions. Although one principal rated teaching and learning important, he only devoted about 10 percent of his time to this function, whereas 40 percent of the time was spent on administration. Two other participants indicated that some emphasis should be placed oninstructional leadership. However, two principals felt that it was least importantfor them to manage teaching and learning, and thereforespent most of their time managing learner discipline and attending to administrative matters. One principal claimed that managing people (human resource management) was much more important than managing teaching and learning, while another principal expended 40 percen

t of his time on administrative matters. However, four of these principals rated human resource management as an important function for school principals. 4.2.Role Of Principal in Managing Teaching and Learning All participants interviewed provided varied explanations of their role as manager/leader. Two principals were of the opinion that their primary task was to manage the Heads of Departments (HoDs) and the deputy principal (curriculum) whom were responsible for curricula delivery. Although one principal alluded to various managerial functions(planning, organizing, leading and controlling) that he performed, there was no specific reference made to his role as instructional leader. This principal alluded to the fact that he only applied the different management functions to teaching and learning, such as controlling the work of HoD; conducting weekly meetings where HoDs and deputy principals provided him with feedback to problems they encountered; and merely commenting on the analysis of assessment results for all grades. He frequently attended departmental meetings or studied the minutes of meetings. Another principal claimed that he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school, and that curriculum matters were the responsibility of the school management team. The school had appointed additional HoDs than those allocated by the Department’s post provisioning norms. 4.3.Principals Understanding of “Instructional Leadership” From the responses of the principals in terviewed it would appear that very few had a conceptual understanding of what instructional leadership means. One principal emphasized that he did not see his role as instructional leader but explained that instructional leadership isthe ability to give guidance to less experienced teachers. He is of the opinion that the principal must take the lead in developing new teaching

strategies and ensure effective classroom management.Another principal explains that instructional leadership is about providing guidance to the school management team and teachers with regard to teaching and learning. An instructional leader “should monitor the delivery using the Curriculum Management Model and ensure that resources are provided to teachers.” was one of the principal’s response. He elaborates that the leader should organize workshops where pertinent issues regarding teaching and learning should be discussed: topics such as assessments, reporting and subject policies. The leader should monitor content coverage, compare with results and implement improvement plans.One principal understands instructional leadership to mean that“as a leader you should communicate clear instructions. This cannot be done always because you cannot be forever giving instructions. At times you need to listen and involve more people/stakeholders in decision-making.”This principal felt that one fulfills the role of instructional leader if “I have to communicate or implement departmental regulations and/or policies”.From further probing it was established that his school management team is responsible for arranging workshops and dealing with all curriculum matters.1215.Conclusion and RecommendationsAlthough principals are still accountable for managerial tasks such as ensuring safe school buildings, maintaining order and discipline by enforcing departmental and school policies, and ordering books and supplies, they should become responsible for providing good quality instructional leadership that aims to promote best practices in teaching and related instructional areas for the aim of improving learner achievement Balancing administrative and managerial

duties with their role as instructional leaders is undoubtedly a necessity for high student achievement. Student achievement is the cornerstone of the success of principals who should play an active, ongoing role as instructional leaders. If the principals’ success depends on teacher and student performance, the principals’ approach as instructional leaders is crucial to promote student achievement. To do so requires principals to become conversant with innovative teaching theories and practices, and to encourage teachers to model them in the classroom. The principal has the power to influence student-learning outcomes by setting the school’s goals and by promoting effective instructional practices. The job description of principals in current legislation should be reviewed to include a detailed description of what is expected from the principal in terms of instructional leadership. 6.References[1]Alig-Mielcarek, J.A. (2003). A Model of Success: Instructional Leadership,Academic Press, and Student Achievement. Unpublished Dissertation: The Ohio State University. [2]Blasé, J. & Blasé, J. (2000). Effective Instructional Leadership: Teachers’ perspectives on how principals promote teachingand learning in schools.Journal of Educational Administration, 38(2):130-141. Available from http://www.emerald-library.com (23 March 2010) [3]Blasé. J., Blasé. J. & Philips, D. (2010). Handbook of School Improvement. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin. [4]Bush, T., &Heystek, J. (2006). School Leadership and management in South Africa: Principals’ Perceptions. International Studies in Educational Administration, (34):63-76. [5]

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